The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for analyzing plastic materials and more particularly, to systems and methods for determining post consumer (i.e. recycled) content in a thermoplastic sample.
Many goods and services are marketed proclaiming percentages of post consumer (i.e., recycled) content in their products and/or product packaging. Reusing post consumer products and packaging materials are an important method of conserving natural resources, energy and reducing bulk in landfills.
Further, many plastic type materials do not decompose naturally for very many years, if at all. Further still, many such plastic type materials breakdown into toxic materials as part of their decomposition process. As a result, recycling such plastic materials are important steps toward reducing the impact of these materials on our environment.
Manufacturers have begun to make broad marketing claims regarding percentages of post consumer material content in their products and product packaging as consumers are becoming more and more aware of the impacts of plastic-type materials on the environment. Unfortunately, for many of these plastic materials, there is no standard, reliable system, method of determining actual contents of a claimed reused or recycled thermoplastic material in a given thermoplastic sample (e.g., a product or a product packaging). As a result, recent testing has shown many of the manufacturers' marketing claims regarding percentages of post consumer material content are less than accurate and some may be specifically misleading to the consumer.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for standard, reliable systems and methods of determining actual contents of a claimed reused or recycled thermoplastic material in a given thermoplastic sample.